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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I 'M IMpressed!, May 21, 2007
This review refers to "IM" by Rick R. Reed
Let me just start by saying wimps need not apply for this one. However if you love a thriller that will scare the bejezzus out of you, can handle characters that are more human than your everyday macho hero types, and don't mind (or maybe you like)a little x rated action laced throughout, "IM" is for you. It is also a story that will keep you guessing and trying to put together all the clues that Author Reed so enticingly places as the story progresses.
When Detective Ed Comparetto of the Chicago PD is called to investigate a brutal and horrifying murder scene, he has no idea what he will be getting himself into. The victim is part of the gay community as is Ed. Ed doesn't hide his preference and has taken some ribbing from his fellow officers, who don't think he can quite cut the mustard. So when Ed comes up with a witness that is legally dead, the department takes the opportunity to send Ed packing. But he won't give up. Without gun or badge, he begins his own investigation, at first to prove he is not crazy and seeing ghosts, and then to try and convince the department that this "witness" is more dangerous then any apparition and may be the key to this murder and several more to follow. He discovers that the murders are all linked through the modern world of an on line site for gay men, where they can Instant Message each other and set up a hook-up. Following the skimpy clues, with imminent danger and heart pumping suspense at every turn and almost on every page, Ed faces his own fears, often putting his life on the line, and goes after the horrifyingly deranged suspect. And the question of what can turn a person into a monster, also begins to come to light through the read.
I read on Rick Reed's profile that Unzipped magazine said, "You could call him the Stephe King of gay horror." I will go a step further and say that if IM were a film it would be Hitchcockian. Reed gets the reader so involved with the very real characters in just a few pages, that like in any good Hitchcok film, we want to shout out,"Look out, there's a killer near", or in this case, we may just want to tell them, "don't hit that send button!, don't open your door!" Each a very different and human person. Some may have just been looking for a good time, some for a little companionship to fill a lonely void, others looking for love. The reader begins to feel like a bit of a voyeur(also a trademark of a good Hitch film), privy to the personal IMs being sent back and forth.
As a reader of many mystery books, I must say that this one really had me going and was genuinely shocked and surprised at all the twists. Reed does a fine job of tying it all together and left me satisfied with the ending. Very IMpressive! I also very much enjoyed the story within the story, that of Ed's growing relationship with his new boyfriend Peter. I hope to see more of both of them sleuthing in future books.
Not only a great thriller, with a modern twist that leans towards the erotic, but also a look into the dark world of IM.
Rick Reed...I may never IM again....Laurie
also recommended:
Winter Prey
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Midwest Book Review, September 2007 Issue, September 6, 2007
Timothy Bright, a handsome young character in this horror thriller, hides a past full of sexual abuse and rage. He takes out his grief and anger upon gay men by instant messaging at Men4HookUpNow.com and killing the guys who meet up with him for sexual encounters.
Ed Comparetto, a gay Chicago police detective, catches the cases and is put through a nightmarish investigation which culminates in his suspension from the job when doubt is cast on his findings. He's sure that Timothy Bright is the murderer, but he can't figure out how to prove it. Once he's suspended, the cases become Ed's personal crusade. He'll have to put his own life on the line - and that of someone else he loves - in order to stop this killer. Will he risk it all?
Reed has created an engrossing story - albeit brutally violent and sometimes gory. The writing is crisp and carries the reader along on a wave of suspense and horror. Reed expertly uses third person for Comparetto's investigation, first person for the murderer, and diary entries about Bright to bring this novel to life. He has capitalized on the phenomenon of people meeting via the Internet and dating services, and IM ends up being quite the scary cautionary tale.
The book is not for the faint-hearted, but is highly recommended for all those who enjoy horror a la "Silence of the Lambs." If you enjoy a bit of gore, a tense thriller, and well-crafted characters, you'll be utterly captivated by this book. ~Lori L. Lake, Midwest Book Review
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Realistic and scary masterpiece of a novel, May 10, 2007
Timothy Bright grew up being cared for by an Aunt, and sexually
abused by her sadistic boyfriend, leaving him an extremely bitter and
troubled man, self-loathing in his own homosexuality. Incapable of a
normal relationship with anyone, he contacts other men for anonymous
sexual encounters on a website called Men4HookUpNow.Com. Once they
meet, Timothy attacks and brutally murders them, leaving a trail of
unexplained sadistic killings to be solved by the Chicago Police.
Ed Comparetto, a openly-gay rookie police detective who knows he must
prove himself, was assigned to one of the earlier murder cases,
hoping his sexuality might give him some insight into the case. At
the scene, he interviews and comforts the slight young man who said
he was a neighbor and friend of the victim, and who called 911 after
finding the body. When Ed's superiors check out his report, find
that none of the information he got checks out, and the name the man
supposed gave him - Timothy Bright - is on record as having died
several years earlier, Ed is suspended from the force, allegedly for
falsifying the report.
So begins a twisting and highly engrossing superb murder mystery,
which will be especially frightening to many gay men since the
territory (gay "hook up" websites, gay clubs, inner
city "gayborhoods") is familiar, and the villain has more than a
passing physical and M.O. resemblance to real-life sicko Jeffrey
Dahmer ... thankfully without the latter's culinary peculiarity.
Reed skillfully provides background information on Bright through
diary entries from his aunt, and keeps the character simultaneously
engaging and absolutely frightening in every way. Ed's suspension
from the police force gives Reed the freedom to make this more of a
personal battle for the young detective, who not only wants to catch
this killer but to put himself back in a favorable light with his
commander. The book is decidedly gory in parts, which I consider
necessary in order to convey just how psychotic Bright is, making it
clear he'll do anything to carry out his imagined vendetta against
other gay men. Ultimately, others from Bright's past become the
focus of his deranged actions, and Ed has to try to rescue his
boyfriend from Bright's clutches.
A well-written, thoroughly enjoyable, and absolutely terrifying
novel, which I recommend highly. I give it five stars out of five.
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